Tag: Film Review

The Drama (2026) | REVIEW

Robert Pattinson and Zendaya in Krstoffer Borgli’s THE DRAMA — PHOTO: A24 (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Kristoffer Borgli — Screenplay by Kristoffer Borgli.

The Drama is one of the most heavily anticipated wedding films in recent years. But it isn’t just any wedding film; it is also the third feature film from Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli, best known for his sophomore effort (and English-language debut), Dream Scenario, starring Nicolas Cage, about a university professor who, much to his surprise, starts popping up in people’s dreams around the world. His latest film has a similarly fascinating premise, but one that is much more grounded in reality. The Drama is an American-set dark, cringe rom-com with psychological elements about relationships, performativity, outrage, and the skeletons in our closets. It has all the makings of what could very well end up being one of the most hotly debated and divisive films of the year, partly due to the way it touches on difficult and very dark subject matter. On first viewing, I found it to be an intriguing conversation starter that also manages to be a thoroughly entertaining film, perhaps especially because of one of the particularly well-tuned central performances, but also because of key and clever visual and textual storytelling decisions.

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Pizza Movie (2026) | REVIEW

Trailer title card — PHOTO: Hulu / Disney+ (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher — Screenplay by Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher.

Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher’s Pizza Movie is a modern stoner comedy that follows Montgomery (played by Sean Giambrone) and Jack (played by Gaten Matarazzo), two college roommates, who find this special drug after it falls out of their ceiling boards. The drug is called ‘M.I.N.T.S.’ but is nothing like mints. It is a hallucinogenic drug that takes them through multiple reality-breaking phases. To avoid a nightmarish final phase, the boys need to eat some pizza before they reach it, but their pizza journey will lead them directly into confrontation with an old friend (Lizzy, played by Lulu Wilson), bullies, extreme RAs (led by Jack Martin’s character, Blake), and the girl (Ashley, played by Peyton Elizabeth Lee) that Montgomery has a massive crush on.

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Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice (2026) | REVIEW

(L-R) Eiza Gonzalez, James Marsden, and Vince Vaughn (x2) in Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice — PHOTO: 20th Century Studios (Still image from trailers).

Directed by BenDavid Grabinski — Screenplay by BenDavis Grabinski.

BenDavid Grabinski’s Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice takes place in a somewhat goofy version of an organized crime world, wherein we meet Quick-Draw Mike (played by James Marsden), who has fallen in love with Alice (played by Eiza Gonzalez). Alice, however, is married to another member of the crime world, Nick (played by Vince Vaughn), who, unbeknownst to Mike, has framed Mike as a so-called rat. Things take a strange turn when Mike agrees to help Nick complete a job. The thing is, Nick needs Mike to chloroform someone who just so happens to look exactly like Nick. Why? Well, one of the two Nicks has used a time machine to stop his past self from making the worst mistake of his life.

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Project Hail Mary (2026) | REVIEW

Ryan Gosling in PROJECT HAIL MARY — PHOTO: AMAZON MGM STUDIOS (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (21 Jump Street; The LEGO Movie) — Screenplay by Drew Goddard (The Martian).

Based on the Andy Weir novel of the same name, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s Project Hail Mary follows Dr. Ryland Grace (played by Ryan Gosling), a former molecular biologist and middle school teacher, who wakes up on a spacecraft several light-years away from Earth with no memory of how he got there. As Grace’s memory slowly comes back to him, he investigates the spacecraft and finds that he is the sole survivor of a three-person crew sent out to find out how we can stop an extinction-level event from further harming Earth. A microorganism known as Astrophage, which is exponentially increasing its size, appears to be dimming our Sun and several stars in our solar neighborhood. The crew, including Grace, was sent out to figure out why Tau Ceti is the only unaffected star in the vicinity. Unsure about how to carry out his mission, Grace eventually comes into contact with an alien entity, which he dubs ‘Rocky,’ and its own glorious spacecraft. When Grace finds a way to communicate with Rocky, named so because of his ‘pile of rocks’-like body, Grace figures out that they’re there for the same reason. So, he now must figure out how to save lives at home and light-years away from our solar system.

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Sentimental Value (2025) | REVIEW

Stellan Skarsgård as Gustav Borg in Joachim Trier’s SENTIMENTAL VALUE — PHOTO: NEON / NORDISK FILM (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Joachim Trier — Screenplay by Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt.

Like Thomas Vinterberg and Ruben Östlund, the Danish-born Norwegian auteur Joachim Trier is part of a select group of Scandinavian filmmakers who, in recent years, have broken through across the pond, exemplified by their prestigious Academy Award nominations. Trier, best known for his critically acclaimed Oslo trilogy (including the films (1) Reprise, (2) Oslo 31. August, and (3) The Worst Person in the World), has made several modern films that work as ruminations and meditations on the modern human experience, as his films cover themes, to name just a few, such as growing up, turning a corner in life, feeling unfulfilled, and feeling socially excluded. In recent years, some of my favorite reviews to write have been of the films in his excellent Oslo trilogy, two-thirds of which I consider genuine masterpieces (and, to add to that, Reprise is a fantastic debut film, despite arguably being the lesser of the three). Naturally, every new film of his is a major event to me. His latest film, Sentimental Value (original title: Affeksjonsverdi), continues Trier’s hot streak.

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Scream 7 (2026) | REVIEW

Neve Campbell hiding from the Ghostface killer in SCREAM 7 — PHOTO: Paramount Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Kevin Williamson — Screenplay by Kevin Williamson and Guy Busick.

When Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (often referred to as Radio Silence) took over the reins to this long-beloved slasher franchise from the late, great master of horror Wes Craven — starting with 2022’s Scream legacy sequel — they did a good job of steering the film series in the right direction by creating two films (also including Scream VI) that successfully introduced a new core group of characters, inserted the effective meta-genre commenary that Craven’s films were known for, and earned strong box office returns and critical reception. That goodwill was dealt a significant blow when, after Radio Silence had already exited the seventh film in the series due to scheduling conflicts, the rebooted series’ lead, Melissa Barrera, was, shockingly, fired for pro-Palestinian posts on social media. Following this, co-lead Jenna Ortega announced that she would not return for the seventh film, and director Christopher Landon left the project (and was replaced by original Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson). Recently, boycotts have been announced, and protests have been organized. The very public behind-the-scenes drama has led to a troubled production, and, among the fanbase, there were concerns that this seventh entry would suffer for it. After having seen the film, I can say that, well, ultimately, it’s not just drama behind the camera that’s holding Scream 7 back.

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Sorry, Baby (2025) | REVIEW

Eva Victor in SORRY, BABY — PHOTO: A24 (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Eva Victor — Screenplay by Eva Victor.

Earlier this week, I sat down to finally watch one of the most discussed and praised directorial debuts of 2025. Eva Victor’s Sorry, Baby has already been celebrated by the National Board of Review as the best directorial debut of last year, and it was recognized with nominations at both the Indie Spirit Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards, the DGA Awards, and the Golden Globes. As such, it is one of the most high-profile independent films of last year, which comes with some pretty high expectations. So, I was naturally very intrigued by it, and, as the film came to a close, I was also very impressed by the narrative and the incredible multi-hyphenate at the center of it.

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Send Help (2026) | REVIEW

Rachel McAdams as Linda Liddle in 20th Century Studios’ SEND HELP — PHOTO: 20th Century Studios (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Sam Raimi — Screenplay by Mark Swift and Damian Shannon.

As I like to remind my readers, my dad had an open mind when it came to what movies my sister and I were ready to watch at a young age. So, as it turned out, when I was a kid, one of my favorite movie characters was Bruce Campbell’s Ash Williams from Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead films (I even dressed up as Ash for Halloween recently). Of those Evil Dead films, Army of Darkness, especially, holds a special place in my heart. As Sam Raimi then transitioned from indie horror to superhero spectacle (with several studio films in between) with his Spider-Man films, which were released as I was growing up, Sam Raimi quickly became one of my favorite filmmakers. Therefore, I was especially excited when I found out that Raimi was going to have an R-Rated original horror-comedy come out in early 2026. Send Help, in which Rachel McAdams re-teams with her Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness director, is that film, and it is so exciting to be able to say that Raimi’s film not only works but is a strong reminder of what made so many of us fall for his brand of cinema in the first place.

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28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) | REVIEW

Ralph Fiennes (foreground) and Jack O’Connell (background) in Nia DaCosta’s 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE — PHOTO: Sony Pictures Releasing (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Nia DaCosta (Candyman) — Screenplay by Alex Garland (Annihilation; Civil War).

Just seven months after the release of Danny Boyle’s long-awaited 28 Years Later, we already have a direct sequel. This second part in a proposed three-part follow-up to 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later is, notably, not directed by Danny Boyle, despite Alex Garland still having penned the screenplay. Instead, the director of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is Nia DaCosta, the Candyman (2021) and The Marvels director, who now must try to recapture the spirit of one of the most iconic zombie, or zombie-adjacent, film series ever made. Having been shot back-to-back, but by different filmmakers, it is only natural that some would be concerned about whether or not they could pull it off successfully. But, thankfully, Nia DaCosta has turned in what is easily her best franchise film. Despite its January release date (a release window most known for being filled with less-than-pleasing films), 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is not only a worthy follow-up to Boyle’s sequel, but it is also the first great film of the year.

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Bugonia (2025) | REVIEW

Emma Stone in Yorgos Lanthimos’ BUGONIA — PHOTO: Focus Features (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things; Kinds of Kindness) — Screenplay by Will Tracy (The Menu).

Bugonia marks the 4th collaboration between multiple Oscar-winning actress Emma Stone and the most famous filmmaker of the so-called ‘Greek Weird Wave’ (and in a row, no less). Their latest film together is an English-language remake of Jang Joon-hwan’s black comedy titled Save the Green Planet!, a South Korean film released in 2003. Though initially conceived as an opportunity for Jang, the original filmmaker, to direct the English-language remake of his own film for an international audience (not unlike what Ole Bornedal did with his English-language Nightwatch remake in the 1990s), it is now, instead, a fascinating instance in which a European auteur is adapting an Asian original story though in a North American setting. In a way, that almost intercontinental approach is fitting for a film about people who may or may not come from different worlds in more ways than one. It’s also, frankly, a really effective film.

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